New judge appointed to prostitution case

ALFRED – A new judge has been appointed in the case of Mark Strong, the Thomaston man charged this summer in connection with an alleged Kennebunk prostitution operation.

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By Jennifer Feals

seacoastonline.com

By Jennifer Feals

Posted Sep. 24, 2012 at 12:24 PM
Updated Sep 24, 2012 at 12:28 PM

By Jennifer Feals

Posted Sep. 24, 2012 at 12:24 PM
Updated Sep 24, 2012 at 12:28 PM

» Social News

ALFRED – A new judge has been appointed in the case of Mark Strong, the Thomaston man charged this summer in connection with an alleged Kennebunk prostitution operation.

Justice Joyce Wheeler, who sits in Cumberland County, had been specifically assigned to the case by Superior Court Chief Justice Thomas Humphrey, but recused herself late last week.

Monday morning, Humphrey appointed Justice Nancy Mills, who normally sits in Kennebec County, to preside over the high-profile case, said Mary Ann Lynch, spokeswoman for the state judicial system.

Lynch said Wheeler did not given a reason for her recusal and is not required to do so.

Strong's attorney Daniel Lilley argued in court on Friday, Sept. 14 that Wheeler should recuse herself, citing the possibility or appearance of bias stemming from a relationship between Wheeler and one of her law clerks.

Lilley said Wheeler's law clerk, Jonathan Nathans, is married to Kate Lawrence, an assistant attorney general who is part of the prosecution on the case.

In court, Wheeler declined to recuse herself and said Nathans had no involvement with the case, would not work on it, and that she would not discuss it with him.

Wheeler said in court that it was her understanding that her appointment followed the recusals of other York County judges.

Strong, 57, of Thomaston, was arrested in July following an investigation into the Pura Vida Zumba Studio and an office space in Kennebunk, both operated by Alexis Wright of Wells.

While Wright has not been charged, a police affidavit says the investigation revealed meticulously kept client records and price lists, videos of Wright engaging in sexual acts, and evidence that Strong, who is also a private investigator, used databases to search potential clients for Wright.

The affidavit also cites telephone, bank and postal records linking Wright and Strong, who co-signed the lease for Wright's Kennebunk Zumba studio.

Lilley has said Wright and Strong established a relationship after Wright indicated an interest in becoming a private investigator, and that she hired him to investigate her claims of harassment by the Kennebunk Police Department.